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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—JUNE I960—PAGE II ^dour (Covered ddducation Excerpts from Reports by Civil Rights State Advisory Committees The U.S. Civil Rights Commission recently re leased the 1959 reports it received from its state advisory committees. Of the 14 southern and her der states submitting reports, four reported spe cific developments in education in their states. Excerpts from these follow: Georgia Report “A recent Federal court decision applicable to Georgia State College in Atlanta said that dis crimination in admittance because of race was unconstitutional. At this writing, another suit pends in Atlanta seeking to end segregation in public schools. “Four private institutions of higher learning in the State, three of them Negro colleges, have de cided to adopt nondiscriminatory admission poli cies. Since the court ruling on Georgia State, the regents of the University System have closed ad mission to all new applicants, whatever their race. The Governor and the regents now are studying regulations to determine their next step. The ruling has adversely affected enrollments at the State’s smaller university units and at its off-campus centers in several cities. “Since 1952 Georgia General Assemblies have passed a long list of laws designed to thwart in tegration of any degree. Some of these contradict each other; application of others appears to de pend wholly on the interpretation of elected offi cials and die attorney general. A direct act of integration will make operative a law that closes the school integrated and also the school from which the Negro child is assigned. Other laws might close all the schools in the district af fected . . . Not To Be Equated “. . . Though technical segregation may have ended on buses and on some golf courses without open difficulties, these are not to be equated with the schools in the peoples’ attitudes. Depending on the type of desegregation suit, the entire school system of the State could be closed. “It has been reported to the Advisory Commit tee that obtaining faculty members at State uni versities is becoming increasingly more difficult because of general tension, and that some teachers at all levels have quit Georgia out of fear that their children’s education might be interrupted. “Georgia has made appreciable advancement since World War II in equalizing building fa cilities and faculty salaries in white and colored schools. Some statistical research might be help ful in determining population distributions within specific school systems, the economics of a dual school bus system, the amount of federal aid di rectly and indirectly allocated to Georgia educa tion, variations in the degree of local support as related to the proportion of local Negro school populations, Negro average daily attendance figures and teacher salary allocations as compared to white, etc. . . Missouri Report “In all, data were received by questionnaire and by telephone from 100 districts, representing 59 counties. These districts embraced more than 310,764 school children. Of even great significance was the fact that the data involved 91 percent of all the 77,000 Negroes estimated enrolled in Mis souri schools in 1958-59. “Of the 100 districts reporting, 55 returned replies as to the year in which desegregation was begun or completed. Of these, 21 desegregated in 1954-55, 13 in 1955-56, 10 in 1956-57, 8 in 1957- 58, and 3 in 1958-59. “But the vast majority of Negro pupils are still attending segregated schools. This anomalous sit uation is the direct result of residential segrega tion. So long as the denial of free choice in home buying and renting obtains, so long as the Negro ghetto exists, just so long will integration in the schools remain a mockery. Thus, despite the much vaunted claims of complete integration in Kansas City and St. Louis — admirable as are their achievements thus far—high schools like Vashon and Sumner and Banneker elementary in St. Louis remain as segregated as before integration started. “Desegregation, in the main, has brought a re duction in education costs. In fact, almost 60 per cent of the school officials reporting claimed that school expenses had dropped since desegregation. Only 24 reported no decrease in school costs and 24 did not answer. “Desegregation in the State has resulted in a decrease of Negro teachers. Of 82 officials report ing, 46 or about 56 percent admitted they had dropped Negro teachers upon desegregating their schools. Thirty-six or 44 percent reported they had not reduced the number of Negro teachers. Eighteen did not answer. The greatest mortality was probably in rural or semirural areas with one or two Negro teachers. Here the loss of Ne gro teachers reached 100 percent. “If the displaced teachers from former all- Negro schools could have been absorbed in mixed schools, the problem would have been minimized, if not wholly solved. But the query as to whether Negro teachers are employed in predominantly white schools blasted this possibility. Fifty-eight, or more than four-fifths of the districts reporting, did not have Negro teachers in mixed schools. “The overwhelming number of officials replying stated that desegregation was complete. In other words, they indicated that buses, school lunch rooms, playgrounds, athletic programs, special in terest groups (such as glee clubs, debating clubs) and school social programs were all open to Ne groes. One replied “yes” and “no.” But 72 out of 77 replying stated that all school activities were open to all students. Higher Learning “Missouri’s publicly supported institutions of higher learning, like its elementary and secondary schools, were all segregated when the Supreme Court handed down its epoch-making decision of May 17, 1954. The net effect of the Supreme Court’s ruling was to invalidate Missouri’s long standing policy of excluding Negro students from institutions of higher learning by constitutional provisions. “In all the 11 public colleges reporting, the student body is representative of both races. While at least one Negro is represented in each formerly white college, white students comprise a large proportion of the Lincoln University stu dent body, which in May 1954 was entirely Negro. “Teacher integration in public institutions of higher learning has lagged far behind the mixing of faculties in the elementary and high schools. In only two public colleges or universities are members of both races employed as regular staff members. These are Harris Teachers College and Lincoln University Oklahoma Report “While the constitutional and statutory school segregation provisions in Oklahoma were pat terned after those in the Deep South, due largely to the fact that many of the early leaders in Oklahoma political life came from the South, the greater part of Oklahoma has a background of Western tradition rather than Southern tradition. Then, too, the Negro population in Oklahoma is only about 8 per cent of the white population. There are 32 counties in Oklahoma where the nonwhite population is less than 5 percent and 15 of these counties have no Negro children. There is no county in Oklahoma with a nonwhite popu lation of more than 25 percent. There has been some integration in all of the counties in Okla homa in which there are Negro children of school age, with the exception of five. “Shortly after the action by the State regents desegregating all of the State institutions of high er education, the Board of Education, under the leadership of Dr. Oliver Hodge, adopted a policy favorable to integration but leaving the question of when and how the common schools would de segregate, in accord with the 1954 Supreme Court decision, with the boards of control of the various independent school districts. The elimination of the separate tax for Negro schools made it eco nomically advisable and in some instances eco nomically necessary to eliminate the separate school and transfer the Negroes to the white school. Two Questionnaires “The office of the State superintendent of pub lic instruction under the direction of Dr. Hodge circulated two integration questionnaires in the school districts, one in the fall of 1957 and the other in the fall of 1958. We believe that an analysis of some of the information obtained in these surveys will indicate the trend in Okla homa. The questionnaire indicated that there were 15 counties in the State that did not have any Negro children eligible to attend school; that in 1957 there were 181 high schools with both white and Negro children in attendance and in 1958 this number increased to 190; that in 1957 approximately 2,500 students were involved and this had increased in 1958 to approximately 3,320; that in 1957 there were 89 junior high schools having both white and Negro children in attend ance and in 1958 this had increased to 101; that in 1957 approximately 1,080 students were in volved and in 1958 this had increased to approxi mately 1,700 students; that in 1957 there were 161 elementary schools having both white and Negro children in attendance and in 1958 this number had increased to 168 schools. “The number of Negro elementary-school chil dren involved in 1957 was approximately 3,030 and this number had increased in 1958 to approxi mately 3,325. In 1957 there were 39 high schools with only Negro children in attendance and in 1958 this number had decreased to 35; in 1957 there were 14 junior high schools with only Ne gro children in attendance and in 1958 this num ber had been reduced to 7; in 1957 there were 130 grade schools with only Negro children in attendance and in 1958 this number had increased to 135. Surveys Also Show “These surveys also showed that 78 elementary schools, 4 junior high schools, and 56 senior high schools had been abolished because of integration and in 1958 this number had increased to 94 ele mentary schools, 8 junior high schools, and 61 high schools. “These surveys also showed that 298 Negro teachers had lost their positions in 1957 because of integration and in 1958 this number had in creased to 344. “While Oklahoma has made real progress in the area of integration in its public school sys tem at all levels, there are still many problems and it is the feeling of this committee that Okla homa may be getting too much favorable pub licity and some of it no doubt paints the picture brighter than it really is. It is the feeling of our committee that better progress can be made quiet ly and constructively. The biggest single problem created as a result of integration is the loss of positions by such a large number of qualified Negro teachers. There are now employed in mixed schools somewhere between 10 and 20 Ne gro teachers which is not very many in the light of the number that have lost positions. “Another problem is the decline in the number of Negro children attending all-white schools where the separate Negro school has been abol ished and the children transferred to white schools. The policy of voluntary transfer has been recognized by the districts where there is a choice of schools but when the only Negro school has been abolished there is no longer a question of voluntary choice. One member of our committee had information indicating that in two or three schools the drop-out was rather large. On investi gation of these schools by the committee, it was found that the drop-out was not large or ab normal. “On the whole integration has worked well in Oklahoma. There are a number of reasons for this, some of which are; “(1) Only 8 percent of Oklahomans are Negroes. “(2) The State Regents for Higher Education took prompt action at the higher education level and the school boards were both fair and prac tical all across the State. “(3) The great majority of both the white and Negro citizens wanted a peaceful approach to in tegration and insisted on it. Generally the chil dren of both races acted well and as time passed the racial incidents diminished. “(4) Oklahoma was extremely fortunate in the quality of leadership. Too much credit cannot be given to Governor Gary and Dr. Oliver Hodge for their leadership, and to the State Regents for Higher Education and the State Board of Edu cation, and the educational leaders throughout the State. “(5) A reservoir of racial understanding and good will, including a desire on the part of lead ers of both races to give it an opportunity to work. Leadership at the local level is very im portant because all communities are different and require different approaches to the problem.” Texas Report “Our public schools in Texas started the proc ess of desegregation almost immediately after the Supreme Court’s decision in 1956, and by the close of the year, 122 independent school districts in 65 counties were in the process of desegrega tion. About 3,600 of the 258,000 Negro students in the State were in these mixed schools. So far as is known, no significant disturbances occurred with reference to any of these integration efforts. “During this period of time, integration was started in 35 colleges and universities of Texas, including some in east Texas where public school segregation remains solid. Actually, desegregation had begun in 8 or 10 other colleges and univer sities before the Supreme Court’s ruling was handed down. These colleges and universities in which desegregation has been started, vary as to control from tax-supported institutions to volun tarily supported, and church related, institutions. These also vary from junior colleges to all types of institutions, including the State University. In only one or two instances has there been evidence of any disturbance whatsoever caused by the in tegration efforts in these 40-odd institutions. Complete Standstill “Integration in public schools and in colleges was brought almost to a complete standstill about 3 years ago, due primarily to the various laws passed at that time by our State Legislature. In tegration was moving along in normal fashion, wtihout any significant disturbances, until the enactment of such laws appeared to block the progress. It seems likely, from the facts assem bled, that the local communities would have handled the matter in a satisfactory manner to all parties concerned, if they had been left en tirely to their own devices without intervention of State legislation, the validity of which had not yet been determined by the courts. “In east Texas, where the situation is quite different from that obtaining in other sections of Texas, because of the heavy concentration of Ne gro population, it is not surprising that the com munities did not move forward with integration as readily as did communities in other parts of the State. All who look at the problem realistical ly understand that the solution will be more difficult of attaining in the areas where the Ne gro population is concentrated, than in those where the percentage of Negroes is comparatively small. “On the whole, it is both surprising and grati fying that many public schools and many colleges and universities in Texas have started the proc ess of integration without any major disturbances whatsoever.” # # # Mississippi (Continued From Page 10) their jurisdiction in the face of threat ened integration (Southern School News, May 1960). Previously, that authority was vested solely in the gov ernor. At the 1958 session during for mer Gov. Coleman’s administration, a similar proposal was passed but ve toed. Passage of a bill giving the governor majority control over textbook rating committees stemmed from criticisms of certain textbooks by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Ameri can Legion and the General Legisla tive Investigating Committee. The companion proposal, which would have given the governor immediate majority control over the purchasing board, passed the House but was left to die in a Senate committee. The governor will gain control of the purchasing board under its staggered term make-up in 1962. However, a ma jor textbook adoption is scheduled be fore then and he wanted immediate control in view of the criticisms raised by the various groups, including the Citizens Councils, of which the gov ernor is a member. School authorities opposed the “screening” powers given Gov. Bar nett’s appointees under the statute, and also a provision which permits him to make appointments of other than edu cators and school teachers. About 11 separate committees study textbooks offered by the publishing firms and rate them as a guide to the purchasing board. State Supt. J. M. Tubb defended previous ratings by committees of educators, including classroom teachers, he had named un der the old law. Now, he will name three to each committee and the gov ernor will appoint four to each. Two proposed amendments would make major changes in the state con stitution, which now makes it manda tory for the state to provide free pub lic schools. Voters in the November general election will decide whether to remove the mandatory provisions. Section 201 of the Constitution now reads: “It shall be the duty of the Legisla ture to encourage by all suitable means, the motion of intellectual, sci entific, moral and agricultural im provement, by establishing a uniform system of free public schools by taxa tion or otherwise, for all children be tween the ages of six and 21 years, and as soon as practicable to establish schools of higher grade.” The proposed amendment would have the section read: “The Legislature may, in its discre tion, provide for the maintenance and establishment of a free public school or schools in each county in the state, with such term, or terms, as the legis lature may prescribe.” Other final legislative enactments: 1) Give board of trustees of state in stitutions of higher learning authority to determine who shall be privileged to enter, to remain in or to graduate from those institutions. 2) Require all law enforcement of ficers and judges of all courts to re port violations of the law by any stu dent enrolled in any school or educa tional institution, public or private. A copy of the report is to be sent to school officials and to the secretary of the College Board in Jackson. 3) Require general guardians of minors to seek authority from chan cery court judges to file suits. 4) Increase the appropriation for the Sovereignty Commission, the state’s segregation “watchdog” agency, from $150,000 to $350,000 for 1960-62 bien nium with sufficient leeway to permit use of some funds in cooperation with other southern states in a nationwide promotional program to “tell the South’s story.” A bill to authorize the commission to “aid and encourage” persons dissat isfied with their economic and social status in the state to become a resi dent of another state died in commit tee. Officials of the City of Biloxi and Harrison County on the Mississippi coast are defendants in a suit filed by the Justice Department in U.S. Dis trict Court at Vicksburg seeking to open the beach along the Gulf of Mexico to Negroes. It will be heard before District Judge Sidney Mize of Gulfport, in the same county. The suit followed a race riot that ac companied attempts by Negroes to use portions of the sand beach in the Biloxi area. The beach traditionally has been reserved for whites. Negroes have organized a movement to gain use of the beach. The suit charges the officials with breaking terms of a contract under which the federal government con tributed $1,133,000 for construction of seawall facilities along the area in 1948. The petition states that when the funds were made available, it was agreed that the beach would be “for use of the general public.” Dr. Gilbert Mason, a Negro dentist of Biloxi and leader in the movement to gain use of the beach by members of his race, said “the suit embraces what we are trying to accomplish.” Gov. Ross Barnett, as well as Atty. Gen. Joe T. Patterson, have agreed to assist local authorities in contesting the suit. Dr. Felix Dunn, Negro doctor of Gulfport and head of the Gulfport NAACP branch, said the area in dis pute is a five-mile area on the 26-mile white sand beach. He said officials at Pass Christian, Long Beach and Gulf port do not harrass Negroes using the beaches in those sections but that such interference centers around Biloxi. # # #